Day 33 ~ DO YOU WISH TO BE FREE? . ~ BECAUSE I KNOW I DO ~ . Sometimes moving forwards means you have to let go of everything, you have surrender to it all. It’s not easy, it’s confronting & scary but then when the truth is revealed to you, you will know that you are ok & you will have the faith to move forward. . I’m not good at making decisions especially if as a result, I feel like I’m letting people down, it’s confusing to me. The people pleaser in me says “don’t do it” but for the love of myself I have to do it. But now the decision is made, I feel so f#*king free (pardon the language folks 😉) I don’t quite know all the answers but for now I’m going to enjoy this feeling. . Free as the 🦅 in the sky ✌️ . ❤️ . #livetothriveyoga#truthisfreedom#surrender#acceptance#iwishtobefree#freeasabird#yogatherapy#yogaismytherapy#yogaismysanity#thankgodforyoga#100daychallenge ... See more

THINGS THAT MAKE ME FEEL HAPPY ARE ~ . ❤️ A student telling me that her bone density has significantly improved. ❤️ A student telling me her golf swing feels more comfortable. ❤️ A student telling me her pain feels more manageable. ❤️ A student telling me that whilst she felt emotional after class she felt better for it. . ❤️ The benefits of a regular yoga practice are huge, on a daily basis it makes us feel good but it’s longer term benefits are so much more than that. . ❤️ Someone just asked me what my practice is about & I said that all I am interested in is finding ways to live my life with greater ease & joy. If you can find anything better than that then I’d be interested to know about it 👌🧘‍♀️🙏 . #livetothriveyoga#alifeofease#yogatherapy#livingfully#breathislife#wellness#bewell#befree#yogalife#yogaforeverybody#accessibleyoga#doneisbetterthanperfect ... See more

Folks, you have to trust me on this. Meditation gives you unimaginable freedom, not because it takes you away from the messiness of your life, but because it lets you look at the shadows and know that it is OK.

I implore every one of you to try meditation. There are so many apps out there to help you - Headspace is brilliant but I just found annother good onr for anxiety called Pacifica. Insight Timer has tons and Yoga glo as some great guided ones too,

Today is #20 out of my 100 day challenge and much is shifting and moving, some priorities are changing which is fascinating to observe. I oscillate between clinging onto old habits and wanting to embrace new ones, between feeling confused and really clear, between wanting to dive in or run away. It is a dance that some days feels utterly joyous and some days feels intensely painful, but that is the practice and the process; waking up to things we had not seen before can be a bumpy ride.

A blog post is in the making but it is not there yet, in the meantime do head on over and read a piece that I wrote in the week - https://livetothriveyoga.com/put-a-plug-in-it/ - a few words about breathing, something that we all take for granted but really is an absolute miracle. Learning to breathe well can be life changing, more than you could possibly imagine. Expect more of this to come on the yoga mat.

I’ve been waiting for this book for so long - no book of #donnafarhi ever disappoints & this I feel maybe her best yet. Pathways to a Centered Body - gentle yoga therapy for core stability, healing back pain, and moving with ease. Written in conjunction with @leila.stuart who I have heard great things about. . The book focuses mostly on the #psoasmuscle - the muscle that “does the job of centering the pelvis & stabilising the lumbar spine, it minimises the effort of more external muscles. When the psoas is functioning optimally, the pelvis & lumbar spine will be in a neutral position & stabilised from deep within, creating an experience of effortless vertically that is expressed in graceful integrated posture & movement.” . Going to dive deep into the practices, explore them, feel them, learn them & then teach them. This is valuable information & I’m ready to learn. . Donna Farhi has influenced me all my yogic life & yet we’ve never met, one day we shall. . Intelligent movement infused with the deep wisdom of knowing what being human is all about. She recently had a riding accident & utterly broke her pelvis, how she has put herself back together again has been truly inspiring & humbling 🙏🙏🙏 . #livetothriveyoga#myteachers#myinfluences#yogatherapy#iliopsoas#intelligentmovement#somaticawareness#kinestheticlearning#functionalmovement#soften#hydrate#release#balance#strengthen#movefromit ... See more

I listened to a webinar yesterday with a yogi called Robin Rothenberg - she was talking about the breath and how breathing well is the key to a healthy life. Sometimes you hear an hour of conversation but that, that hour has the potential to be life changing. What she had to say really struck a chord with me and here is why.

According to Robin Rothenberg we have become addicted to the big inhale and exhale, the up and the down, the excitement and the calm. She says that the only breath that matters is the abdominal diaphragmatic breath with the respiratory muscles relaxed. She also goes on to the say that over the years of study she has made into the texts on pranayama she found no supporting evidence for the Ujayyi breath and no scientific data to support that this form of breath really has an impact on our health.

She says that the inhale and exhale are merely tools to help us develop breath retention. "To be able to hold the breath comfortably is a sign of health - it shows that we have enough Co2 in order for our body to be oxygenated."

Of course we all have habits that unconsciously mean we leak prana but according to the yogis prana is finite and therefore learning to plug those leaks is so important. These habits may include sighing, yawning, coughing, sniffing, talking and more and Robin says in fact that all of these habits are signs that we are hyperventilating - most of us are OVER BREATHING.

Fun facts: Co2 regulates our breathing as the medulla reads Co2 levels These levels control whether or not oxygen is released into the tissues So when Co2 drops the body is un-oxygenated and will fatigue

So guess what hyperventilating means we are un-oxygenated - ever wondered why you are so tired?

Simply put we have to plug the leaks - we have to come back to the idea of a low and slow breath, one that is light as a feather and one that allows your body to find balance and wellness.

Today I have been watching myself - catching myself when the big, deep sighs come and observing what the need is. As I catch it I can then take a moment to breathe gently but with full awareness. Two things that are coming out of it - I feel more aware of my emotional neediness and I feel like I am listening to my breath more consciously.

I love this learning process, I love how it informs my practice. Sometimes you hear a piece of information and maybe you have heard it before, but someone says it in a way that it makes so much sense that you know you have to explore it more. I shall be buying her book when it comes out. Do go and check her out

There is a myth about yoga - the myth is that it’s about “stretching” but this is simply not case. Yoga helps the nervous system to develop pathways for rest & relaxation. So it’s as important to engage the muscles as it is to let them relax.

A great blog explaining this further complete with cute cat pictures - what’s not to love!

“When we contract muscles that are stuck in the habit of holding unnecessary levels of tension, it sends blood to those muscles, which wakes them up. When we let go of this conscious muscular contraction, we consciously feel those muscles relax.

Thus the nervous system gets to notice what it feels like to relax those muscles. If the nervous system notices how to relax muscles, you have a neuromuscular pathway for relaxation.“ ... See more

I do not teach yoga as stretching. To reduce yoga to stretching is to do it a disservice. If I could ban my teacher trainees from using one word; that word would be 'stretch'! Although that word 'stretch' is so ingrained into the vocabulary of most yoga teacher ... See more